


Teen Idle.

by Pwyllxiety



Series: Breakeven. [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Dead May Parker (Spider-Man), Depression, Dissociation, How Do I Tag, I'm sorry for this one, Minor Character Death, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Sad Peter Parker, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, big oof's all round
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-04-07 05:00:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19077976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pwyllxiety/pseuds/Pwyllxiety
Summary: "For once, there is nobody to turn to, nobody else to stay strong for. When he gets that phone call he just hangs up and lays face down on the floor of the kitchenette- barely doing anything at all."He's falling to pieces.





	Teen Idle.

Peter is only four when his parents die, so it’s not really something he thinks about often. But he puts on a brave face anyway, because aunt May and uncle Ben knew them so much better than he did. He’d told himself from a young age that he didn’t deserve to grieve- he needed to keep his head straight and stop his grieving family from worrying about him. Not that they stopped worrying, if anything the dead poker face he hid behind made it more concerning- he had just lost his birth parents and he almost didn’t seem to care.

He’s thirteen when uncle Ben dies, he can feel himself slipping into dissociation again, his blank face drawing across any previous emotion and no tears fall. He leaves his Aunt to grieve and does his best to keep their now family of two alive- he takes up a job at the local corner store, so he can spare some cash for the two of them. Spider-Man is little more than a side gig at this point, so he does his best to ignore his newly found vigilante status and works long hours after school. He still goes out as Spider-Man deep into the night, and catches the attention of Tony Stark.

Tony knows who Peter Parker is, well- surface level anyway. A smart kid, top of his class; A hard worker, taking on an after-school job; A strong fighter, the vigilante Spider-Man. Though, whether Peter had been born a mutant or had mutated was still a mystery.

When they finally met- something else came to Tony’s attention that was previously un-clear; the kid was a swirling pit of mental health issues which he refused to address, shambling around in the approximate shape of a teenage boy. His cheeks are slightly sunken, and his eyes are dark and downcast- Tony can _almost_ see the anxiety radiating from the kid.

The more time they spend together, the clearer Peter’s issues become. Every time they patrol together, Tony can’t help but hold his breath as Peter daringly throws himself off the roofs of buildings, his vitals calm, his posture uncaring- He’s waiting for the day when Peter doesn’t care enough to use his web shooter and just plummets to his death- intentionally or not.

May dies when Peter is fifteen, two years after his uncle- and for once, there is nobody to turn to, nobody else to stay strong for. When he gets that phone call he just hangs up and lays face down on the floor of the kitchenette- barely doing anything at all; only eating and drinking water when needed, only sleeping when exhaustion took him. School calls every day, the landline ringing until it auto cancels, leaving the unamused receptionist to leave the same dull message on the answer phone. Tony calls too, Peter’s cracked mobile spitting out it’s annoyingly cheerful ringtone every 3 hours.

Ned texts him, asking if he’s sick- he stops texting after being ghosted for three days. MJ emails him every time he misses decathlon, and he replies to every email with a brief apology, knowing MJ will tell Ned that he’s at least still alive- well barely.

It gets to the fifth day of this, when Tony _literally_ kicks in Peter’s front door. He finds Peter almost unresponsive on the cool tiled floor of the kitchen, the answer machine is blinking the number five, Peter’s breathing is shallow and soft, his pale skin is almost glowing under the harsh fluorescent lighting. 

“ _Shit_. Peter, you with me bud?” Tony asked softly- pulling Peter’s shoulder so his body rolls over, Peter’s eyes are open, and now staring warily at Tony.

“What happened?” Tony prompted slowly. Peter just continued to stare at him, and Tony was able to prop him against one of the kitchen counters.

“Okay, I actually need a response to this one, have you taken anything that would make you act like this?” Tony asked, god forbid Peter had taken something- but it was a possibility, because the kid looked completely out of it.

Peter shook his head, and Tony was pretty sure he heard Peter’s neck click-

_When was the last time he had even moved?_

“Okay, with that out of the way- what happened, please Pete.” Tony basically begged.

Peter shook his head, his tired eyes almost unseeing and his face blank.

Tony was terrified, actually that was un understatement- Tony was absolutely _petrified_.

“I can’t help you if I don’t know what-” Tony tried again.

“I don’t need your help.” Peter hissed, his voice uncharacteristically shaky- that gave up his façade, slow tears dribbled down his face-

They stayed in a tense silence for about ten minutes, Peter’s soft sniffles breaking Tony’s heart with every hitch in his breathing.

“She’s dead.” Peter stated- his voice hoarse, and quiet.

“May?” Tony replied gently- hoping desperately he’d misunderstood.

Peter just nodded, no longer trusting his voice.

Tony pulled him into a hug.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered.

Tony held him as he continued to cry, and Tony swore in that moment to protect him from the horrors of the world that had scarred him so young.


End file.
